The present invention relates to a landing flap carriage pertaining to a landing flap system of an aircraft wing, the system further including guide rails for the carriage and being arrranged under or in the wing, the rails or rail system includes further an upper and lower roller track, the flap system includes one or several flap adjustment drives, flaps proper, and spoilers covering, at least in parts, the flaps; there being supplementary cover elements and structure to maintain aerodynamic integrety of the wing.
Devices of the type to which the invention pertains, are, for example, shown in German printed patent application P 35 30 865.6 and P 36 41 247.3, respectively, corresponding to U.S. applications Ser. Nos. 900,508 (MBB/K370) and 127,943 (MBB/L006). Here, the flaps are carried and guided by means of flap carriages being of a single piece construction and highly resistant against twisting. The carriages include a few relatively large rollers. There is an inherent wear effective between the roller track, on one hand, and the rollers of the carriage, on the other hand. This wear depends on a mechanical phenomenon, called the "Herz Face, Surface or Contact Pressure", which is a direct function of the diameter of the rollers. The larger a roller is in diameter, the larger is the life of the rollers, as well as of the tracks.
Wing sections used at the present time, as well as anticipated to be used in the future, are expected to experience rather high loads along the trailing edge. This means that the known flaps with carriage and, of course, the rails themselves, have to be heavier on account of the large and heavy wheels, and all that entails large bodies for coverage for maintaining a streamlined exterior. Consequently, this whole structure is very heavy which adds to the load, other than useful load, as far as the aircraft is concerned.